Needham emergency manager outlines alert systems, shelters and staffing gaps amid grant uncertainty

Kristen Scoble, Needham’s emergency management administrator, briefed the NAPE Climate Action Committee on Nov. 6 about the town’s emergency management structure, alerting tools and preparedness gaps.

Scoble described the town’s organization, saying she reports to the fire chief and that the town maintains both an EOC team and a policy group that meets quarterly to assess needs. "Our policy group consists of the upper management of the town manager, the 2 deputies, fire chief, police chief, our Amy Helson, our director of comms, HHS, HR, IT, and our school superintendent as well," she said. The policy group and an EOC team run drills and tabletop exercises to test responses to storms, flooding and public‑health crises.

The town uses Rave as its emergency alerting system and runs an annual test; Scoble said individuals can opt into phone, text or email notifications. She noted lessons learned after a summer MWRA water‑use alert about timing and reach. "We sent it out on a Friday afternoon in the summer … a lot of people probably are not home to receive the alert," Scoble said.

Scoble described Needham’s volunteer resources, including a Medical Reserve Corps administered by the health department; she said there are about 109 registered volunteers available for clinics and large events. She also summarized shelter planning: primary shelters are the Rosemary Complex and the Council on Aging ("Cath"), both with backup generators and kitchens; the high school can be used but is conditional on school session and student routines.

Committee members pressed Scoble on targeted outreach to vulnerable residents for heat and smoke events. Ajay, a committee member, asked, "How do we… get the word out for people who are more vulnerable, people who live alone, don't have AC, maybe at risk because of health conditions?" Scoble said the incoming assistant director for the health department will be tasked with improved outreach to groups such as Housing Authority residents and older adults, and with adding vulnerability details to CAD systems used by fire and police so responders can locate residents with medical needs during outages.

On staffing and grants, Scoble said the assistant director/public health nurse post had been vacant since March and was recently filled; she also said some grants from MEMA/FEMA that the town typically receives have not been confirmed and that some grant lines were cut. "Losing those grants… puts a strain on some of our training or updating," she said.

Committee members asked about replacing diesel generators with battery/solar alternatives at shelters. Scoble said she had not been part of detailed conversations on battery storage and that those decisions are generally with building maintenance and the fire chief; she said solar-plus-battery is increasingly part of building conversations but has not been widely implemented for town shelters.

Scoble also said the town’s Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) has been on hold pending bylaw updates and that the town’s SEMP (comprehensive emergency management plan) is being updated for a 2025 completion with NEEMA support.

The presentation closed with committee members urging continued attention to climate-driven hazards and to ensure the policy group understands climate risk as part of planning and resource allocation. "We need to be prepared for that," a committee member said during the discussion.

Looking ahead, Scoble and the committee discussed steps to improve outreach to known-vulnerable residents, continuing tests of Rave alerts, and completing the hazard mitigation and SEMP updates.